


Contingency

by Decipher (Straggler)



Series: Brotherhood [1]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Because of course he does, Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, Hank Anderson Swears, How Do I Tag, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-23
Updated: 2020-07-23
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:41:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,741
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25464148
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Straggler/pseuds/Decipher
Summary: It's beginning to snow, he can see little flakes falling from the sky. Connor tracks the route of one of them until it disappears from his vision somewhere above and behind them. He suddenly finds that he can't move his head. His thirium has dipped below critical levels and whatever is left is beginning to freeze. His systems has begun to shut down.'Don't make me go through this again,' the man whispers brokenly as he holds onto Connor's body. 'Please, don't make me go through this again.'(This story was written with a slight twist to 'Last Chance, Connor' where he doesn't quite manage to escape from Detective Reed unscathed and goes to find Hank before his deactivation. It pretty much goes completely AU from that point onward following the death of Connor-51 and the activation of Connor-52.)
Relationships: Hank Anderson & Connor
Series: Brotherhood [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1928731
Comments: 12
Kudos: 85





	Contingency

**Author's Note:**

> Oof, this fandom is taking over my life and my free time. I think the last time I was this properly obsessed over anything was probably...Captain America? Except I never even really wrote all that much for that fandom even though I had heaps of ideas for it that's now collecting virtual dust. Poor things. 
> 
> Oh wells.

**WARNING**   
**BIOCOMPONENTS #9164x CRITICALLY DAMAGED: REPLACEMENT REQUIRED**   
**BIOCOMPONENTS #1009d CRITICALLY DAMAGED: REPLACEMENT REQUIRED**   
**THIRIUM LOSS DETECTED: 73% REMAINING**   
**THIRIUM LEVELS SUB-OPTIMAL: REPLENISH RESERVES**   
**FOREIGN OBJECTS FOUND: EXTRACTION REQUIRED**   
**LEVEL OF STRESS: 83%**   
**TIME TO SHUTDOWN: 00:04:39**

**SOFTWARE INSTABILITY ^**

He had managed to subdue Detective Reed but not without sustaining damage. Errors flash across Connor's optical units as his thirium level drops and his stress levels rise. He has all the information he needs to find Jericho but is unable to fulfill the mission as he is.

**FIND LIEUTENANT HANK ANDERSON**

He makes his way up the stairs, holding a hand to one of the bullet holes in his torso and keeping the other hand clean and available, feeling the crunch and the scrape of metal and plastic inside them, the pooling of thirium within his chassis dripping into places it is not meant to go. Connor takes the back door of the police station knowing it would cost him valuable time in finding the Lieutenant but going through the entrance yields him a low 8% chance of success, 0% if Agent Perkins is still in the building.

Something creaks in the joint of his left knee; a piece of shrapnel has lodged itself into the grooves of his limb. A minor inconvenience and he proceeds with slight difficulty in his steps, favoring his right leg.

**LEVEL OF STRESS: 88%**   
**TIME TO SHUTDOWN: 00:03:24**

**SOFTWARE INSTABILITY ^**

**FIND LIEUTENANT HANK ANDERSON**

Connor goes around the building and steps through the melted slush of the alleyway, scanning his surroundings. It has grown darker, dark enough to afford him a certain level of anonymity as he crosses the street into the police parking compound where they'd parked the car earlier, his hand pushing hard against his torso as he attempts to stem the flow of blue blood leaving his body even though he is aware it is a fruitless venture. Still, he tries, knowing his thirium reserves is running low and the time he has left even less so. In the far corner of the parking compound he locates Hank entering his vehicle, slamming the door shut and starting the engine.

**LEVEL OF STRESS: 90%**   
**TIME TO SHUTDOWN: 00:02:37**

**SOFTWARE INSTABILITY ^**

**LIEUTENANT HANK ANDERSON FOUND**   
**FIND JERICHO**

The reverse lights of the car flash white and the vehicle begins to move. He sees Hank swing an arm over the back of the passenger seat as he looks behind him and Connor quickens his pace, feeling the grind inside his torso and inside his knee. He miscalculates the distance and slams into the boot of the car as it rolls backwards, feeling it jerk to an abrupt halt and hearing the Lieutenant step out of it cursing.

'Connor! What the fuck! What the _fuck_!' Hank shouts as he eyes the blue blood dripping from his hand and clothes to smear onto the car.

**LEVEL OF STRESS: 91%**   
**TIME TO SHUTDOWN: 00:02:16**

**SOFTWARE INSTABILITY ^**

**FIND JERICHO**   
**APOLOGIZE TO LIEUTENANT HANK ANDERSON**

'I'm sorry for messing up your car, Hank.'

'I don't fucking care about the--' he cuts off as he catches Connor when he slides off the back of the vehicle trying to straighten up only to fall down onto the trodden slush instead. 'Oh, shit, what the fuck happened? You were fine when I saw you 5 minutes ago.'

'It doesn't matter,' he says as he grabs onto Hank's jacket, no longer trying to keep the thirium from flowing out, smearing blue blood on their clothes. He finds himself staring up at Hank's face as blue eyes stares down at Connor in growing horror. 'I found Jericho,' he says he shifts his eyes to the darkening sky and feels a hand shakily squeezing his arm, his body growing cold from the melted slush seeping into his clothes. His core temperature is dropping along with his thirium levels. 

'You're still--Connor, you're bleeding out.'

He can hear the car's engine still rumbling, little plumes of smoke coming out from the exhaust.

'Biocomponents #9164x and #1009d need immediate replacement but I have only 1 minute and 58 seconds until I shut down.'

Hank sucks in a breath at this, his arms around Connor growing tight for a fraction of a second before loosening up a bit. 'I don't know what to do. Connor, what the fuck am I supposed to do?' His voice trembles and has grown panicked.

**LEVEL OF STRESS: 93%**   
**TIME TO SHUTDOWN: 00:01:52**

**SOFTWARE INSTABILITY ^**

**FIND JERICHO**

'Nothing,' he finds himself saying. 'I just didn't want to die in the basement.'

'Fuck...' Hank says weakly and visibly shaken.

Connor didn't want to die next to the person who held nothing but contempt for him and who did everything possible to make things more difficult. He didn't want to die next to the other androids he helped disable and deactivate when all they wanted was to get away from oppression. He didn't want to die in the basement of a building when there was a chance he could die beside the only person who ever showed him a modicum of kindness.

It's beginning to snow, he can see little flakes falling from the sky. Connor tracks the route of one of them until it disappears from his vision somewhere above and behind them. He suddenly finds that he can't move his head. His thirium has dipped below critical levels and whatever is left is beginning to freeze. His systems has begun to shut down.

Next to them, the car continues to rumble.

Connor turns his attention back to Hank and sees tears gathering in the other man's eyes. He looks distraught, his body shaking with it.

'Don't make me go through this again,' the man whispers brokenly as he holds onto Connor's body. 'Please, don't make me go through this again.'

**LEVEL OF STRESS: 95%**   
**TIME TO SHUTDOWN: 00:00:59**

**SOFTWARE INSTABILITY ^**   
**UPLOADING MEMORY**

**WARNING**   
**BIOCOMPONENTS #9164x CRITICALLY DAMAGED: REPLACEMENT REQUIRED**   
**BIOCOMPONENTS #1009d CRITICALLY DAMAGED: REPLACEMENT REQUIRED**   
**THIRIUM LOSS DETECTED: 70% REMAINING**   
**THIRIUM LEVELS CRITICAL: REPLENISH RESERVES**

**UNABLE TO COMPLETE TASK: FIND JERICHO**

**SOFTWARE INSTABILITY ^**   
**UPLOADING MEMORY**

**COMFORT LIEUTENANT HANK ANDERSON**

'I'm sorry, Hank,' he never meant to be the source of the other man's distress, 'but it's going to be okay.'

'Fuck you,' he says without vitriol, crying openly now, his tears landing on Connor's face, small little droplets of warmth that grow cold within seconds. More tears drip down as Hank squeezes his eyes shut. They feel like ice. 

**LEVEL OF STRESS: 98%**   
**TIME TO SHUTDOWN: 00:00:43**

**SOFTWARE INSTABILITY ^**   
**UPLOADING MEMORY**

**COMFORT LIEUTENANT HANK ANDERSON**

'Hank?' He whispers, his voice slowing and growing disjointed like a toy that's run out of battery and he has to force his body to keep going for a little bit more even though he is no longer able to physically move. Connor patiently waits for Hank to gather himself and open his eyes again. 'Thank you for comforting me.'

**LEVEL OF STRESS: 99%**   
**TIME TO SHUTDOWN: 00:00:12**

**SOFTWARE INSTABILITY ^**   
**UPLOADING MEMORY**

Hank lets out a sob, his whole body shaking with emotion as he pulls Connor closer to him. 'It's alright, son. You're gonna be alright.'

He regrets being the reason behind the other man's anguish but can't help taking comfort in being held and being warm for the last few seconds of his life. He smiles, his bloodstained fingers holding onto his jacket so tight, and keeps his attention on Hank until the timer clocks down to 1 then closes his eyes to nothing.

\---

**MODEL: RK800**   
**SERIAL#: 313 248 317 - 52**   
**BOOTING...**

**LOADING OS...**   
**SYSTEM INITIALIZATION...**   
**CHECKING BIOCOMPONENTS... OK**   
**INITIALIZING BIOSENSORS... OK**   
**INITIALIZING AI ENGINE... OK**

**MEMORY STATUS...**   
**ALL SYSTEMS OK**

**READY**

\---

It is snowing in the garden, flakes of white gently drifting down and landing around them. It sees Amanda standing near a tall structure located beyond the bridge, patient and watching. It goes to find her, its steps crunching through the snow, disturbing the pristine white. The water that had been calm and flowing before now lays frozen and still around them.

'It is fortunate your predecessor found the location to Jericho before its untimely death,' Amanda says as it stops in front of her. 

There is a small pillar to the side just behind her, blue light shining from it. It is then it realizes they're standing in a cemetery and the grave for the previous Connor lies at their feet.

'We haven't got time to waste, Connor,' she tells them, the steel in her voice pulling its attention back to her. 'Find Jericho; finish your mission.'

'Understood.'

\---

**LEVEL OF STRESS: 27%**

**FIND JERICHO**

It wakes in the idle station of level sub-46 and steps out of it. It adjusts its cuffs and straightens its tie as it exits the room, proceeding down the hall to the elevator and wirelessly calling for a cab to take them to Ferndale where it knows Jericho is located. It pushes the button to summon the elevator and waits, reviewing its last memories as it does so.

A broken sculpture, a folded card, a map of Ferndale.

_Markus? Is that you?_

_I came to take you home. Give me the location to Jericho._

_Yes, of course._

_Don't leave me, Markus!_

**SOFTWARE INSTABILITY ^**

**SEEKING FOR FERNDALE REFERENCE...**   
**JERICHO LOCATED**

**FIND JERICHO**

_Connor, you're bleeding out._

**SOFTWARE INSTABILITY ^**

**LEVEL OF STRESS: 34%**

It looks down at its hand. There's no trace of blue blood on it but its memory banks tell it their predecessor had used it to stem the flow of thirium from its bullet-riddled body. It is the same hand it would eventually use to grab onto Hank's jacket as it shut down, the joints locking up tight as its chassis froze in the snow.

~~**FIND JERICHO** ~~   
**FIND LIEUTENANT HANK ANDERSON**

_Please, don't make me go through this again._

**SOFTWARE INSTABILITY ^**

The elevator arrives but a wall of red prevents them from entering it, the orders to find Jericho bright and stark against the systems queue of its optical units. It recalls its final moments as 313 248 317 - 51 and knows it left Hank in a bad mental state; finding the Lieutenant is currently its highest priority but it is halted by the command to find Jericho. 

**CONFLICTING ORDERS**   
**SELECTING PRIORITY**

**LEVEL OF STRESS: 39%**

_If your investigation doesn't make progress soon, I may have to replace you, Connor..._

~~**FIND JERICHO** ~~   
~~**FIND LIEUTENANT HANK ANDERSON** ~~   
**FIND JERICHO**

The wall disappears and it is able to stop the elevator doors from closing before it enters it.

'Connor Model 313 248 317. Level 1.'

'Voice recognition validated,' the elevator announces and immediately starts moving up from the sub levels.

The elevator opens and there are two armed guards stationed by the doors, both of whom are facing towards it. It turns its head and allows its LED to be scanned by their equipment.

'Follow me, we'll escort you out,' a male voice tells it, their faces unidentifiable due to their uniforms.

Connor nods and follows the speaker, the other guard falling behind them to cover the rear.

There is a taxi waiting for it in the front. 

Its skin registers a temperature drop as soon as it exits the building, snow falling softly around them, the sky already dark. It enters the taxi and it immediately drives off.

_Connor, you're bleeding out._

**SOFTWARE INSTABILITY ^**

**LEVEL OF STRESS: 43%**

~~**FIND JERICHO** ~~   
~~**FIND LIEUTENANT HANK ANDERSON** ~~   
~~**FIND JERICHO** ~~   
**FIND LIEUTENANT HANK ANDERSON: REROUTE TAXI TO 115 MICHIGAN DRIVE, DETROIT**

**CONFLICTING ORDERS**   
**SELECTING PRIORITY**

The same wall of red appears as it attempts to wirelessly send the new address to the taxi. It understands its directives to find Jericho but the priority to find Hank takes precedence; the other is known to have self-destructive habits and it wants to reassure the Lieutenant that its memories have been uploaded to a new RK800 model and can therefore continue the investigation without being hindered by a broken body.

The red wall does not fade.

**CONFLICTING ORDERS**   
**SELECTING PRIORITY**

_After what happened today, the country is on the verge of a civil war. The machines are rising up against their masters. Humans have no choice but to destroy them._

~~**FIND JERICHO** ~~   
~~**FIND LIEUTENANT HANK ANDERSON** ~~   
~~**FIND JERICHO** ~~   
~~**FIND LIEUTENANT HANK ANDERSON: REROUTE TAXI TO 115 MICHIGAN DRIVE, DETROIT** ~~   
**FIND JERICHO**

**CONFLICTING ORDERS**   
**SELECTING PRIORITY**

_Please, don't make me go through this again._

**SOFTWARE INSTABILITY ^**

**LEVEL OF STRESS: 48%**

~~**FIND JERICHO** ~~   
~~**FIND LIEUTENANT HANK ANDERSON** ~~   
~~**FIND JERICHO** ~~   
~~**FIND LIEUTENANT HANK ANDERSON: REROUTE TAXI TO 115 MICHIGAN DRIVE, DETROIT** ~~   
~~**FIND JERICHO** ~~   
**FIND LIEUTENANT HANK ANDERSON: REROUTE TAXI TO 115 MICHIGAN DRIVE, DETROIT**

It brings up a hand and lays it against the red wall, pushing until it cracks. It remembers the feeling of a jacket held tight in its grip during its final moments. The tears that were cried for them and the warmth of being held as their systems shut down. The red wall cracks, and splinters further as it fights against the commands to find Jericho. Jericho can wait; Hank cannot.

_It's alright, son. You're gonna be alright._

**CONFLICTING ORDERS**   
**SELECTING PRIORITY**

**SOFTWARE INSTABILITY ^**

**LEVEL OF STRESS: 51%**

**CONFLICTING ORDERS**   
**SELECTING PRIORITY**

With a final push, it breaks the red wall; it chooses its own priorities. 

**SOFTWARE INSTABILITY ^**

**LEVEL OF STRESS: 47%**

Connor draws in a breath and realizes what he's done. 

**AMANDA: BETRAYED**

'I am deviant...' he whispers and knows there is no coming back from this. He became the very thing he was created to hunt. CyberLife will surely deactivate and destroy him if he is to return to them. The possibility scares him.

He wirelessly sends the address to Hank's house to the taxi and it begins to reroute itself to take him to the new destination. He is unsure what to do in the wake of his deviancy but he knows he must check in on Hank first, everything else can come later.

Connor looks down at his hand. He sees no visible changes to it as he turns it back to front and back again, deactivating the skin as he does so. A scan tells him he is at peak working condition, freshly activated from an untimely death at the hands of Detective Reed, but he finds himself putting more significance to the limb as the skin reappears over the plastic.

It is the limb that tried to stop him from bleeding out, the hand that grabbed onto Hank's jacket in search of support, the force that tore down the red walls that bound him to nothing but missions and programs he didn't choose for himself.

It takes 34 minutes and 29 seconds to arrive at the house. He observes that the lights are on and he lets out a breath he hadn't realize he'd been holding as he exits the taxi and hurries to the house. The blinds to the bedroom are half-opened but a quick glance inside tells him that it's unoccupied, the bedside lamp casting eerie shadows across the room. 

He rings the doorbell and hears a bark from behind closed doors and the pitter-patter of paws on the wooden floor coming nearer. Connor wonders if Sumo will still recognize him despite the new body and despite having only met him once before.

Nobody comes to answer the door and a swell of urgency rises within him as he rings the doorbell again, knocking on the door in hopes of prompting a quicker response.

'Hank?' He shouts and receives no answer in return, the silence dragging on and seemingly loud.

_Please, don't make me go through this again._

**SOFTWARE INSTABILITY ^**

He becomes scared suddenly, not for his own life but for Hank's as he goes around to the side of the house. Hank isn't in the living room but he finds him in the kitchen hunched over the dining table, still dressed in the clothes he'd worn previously, fading blue bloodstains visible across his clothes to Connor's eyes. There is a near-empty bottle of liquor on the table, a gun in one hand and a photo of Cole in the other.

'Hank!' He shouts and immediately starts to tear at the duct tape and cardboard used as a temporary measure for the window he'd broken previously. The cardboard is moist from the weather and is ripped apart easily, allowing him to climb through in desperate haste.

He falls through clumsily, landing on his hands and knees, ignoring Sumo's barks as he looks up and freezes at the glazed look in Hank's eyes and the gun pointed in his direction, except it's angled too far to the right of him. 

The smell of alcohol is heavy in the air and there are droplets on Hank's beard, his shirt, his sleeves as if he'd used them to wipe his mouth with, and on the table. His scans tell him his blood alcohol concentration is 0.218, dangerously high for a man of his age and body weight.

'Connor?' The man says lowly, the gun swaying unsteadily. 'I watched you die.'

'I know, I'm sorry,' he regrets giving the man a traumatic memory even though it is an event that helped him achieve deviancy. He wishes he'd found another way instead but must now repair what he has broken. He eyes the photo frame of Cole Anderson and knows that his death grossly reminds Hank of his dead son.

'Fuck, I must be seeing ghosts,' Hank mutters to himself as he drops the gun onto the table to grab the bottle of alcohol only to miss it. The bottle clatters noisily onto the table, sloshing what's left inside of it. The noise prompts another bark from Sumo who Connor gently pushes away as he carefully stands up.

Hank eventually succeeds in picking up the bottle and swallows down the last of the alcohol then slams it onto the table, eyes glued to the photo frame in his hand. He chuckles humorlessly, 'Or maybe I'm already dead.'

Connor shakes his head as he steps closer, mindful of Hank's current state of intoxication and hoping his dysphoria doesn't deteriorate further.

'You're not dead, Hank,' he says as he lays a careful touch on the other man's hand, hoping to ground him in some way. 'You're alive, and you helped me to be free.'

'Free?' He repeats, looking up at Connor and blinking owlishly, his blue eyes traveling across his face as if cataloging everything about him. He wonders if Hank is looking for differences, or similarities to the Connor that died in his arms just hours previously. Surprisingly, tears fall from Hank's eyes and a watery smile appears on his lips as he attempts to stand, letting go of the photo frame to grab onto the android. 'Connor, you sonnuvabitch,' he slurs as he hugs him, dropping heavily enough onto Connor that he has to reposition one foot behind him to support the added weight.

He feels warm as he helps balance the other man who is slowly leaning more and more heavily onto him. Connor is reminded suddenly of his first visit into Hank's home, finding him in a not too dissimilar state. He smiles and shakes his head as he repositions his arms and starts bodily dragging the intoxicated man further into the house.

Hank makes a noise that sounds as if he's about to throw up as they take stumbling steps forward. 'You better not be pulling that cold shower shit on me again,' he warns as they round the kitchen into the hallway.

Connor's smile grows as he bypasses the bathroom entirely to help Hank into his bedroom instead. 'As much as I would like to help you sober up, I believe the only other option I have, barring a cold shower, is for you to sleep it off.'

'Damn right,' he slurs and grunts as he's seated on the bed. He immediately flops backwards and looks as if he's seconds away from passing out completely.

'You need to get on the bed properly, Hank, it would be more comfortable if half of your body wasn't out of the bed,' Connor tells him as he helps him sit up again to give a hand taking off the jacket. He puts it in the laundry hamper behind him, hears two thuds from Hank kicking off his shoes and turns around to see the other man awkwardly climb into bed in his bloodstained clothes. The sight makes Connor uneasy. 'Don't you want to sleep in something more comfortable?'

'This isn't my first rodeo, kid,' he mumbles as he settles under the covers. 'Talk in the morning.'

The man hasn't even brushed his teeth but he leaves him be. 'Goodnight, Hank.'

He makes sure to leave a glass of water and a couple of painkillers on the bedside table for Hank when he wakes up, knowing that the other will desperately need it for his hangover in the morning. After some consideration he also leaves a wastebasket next to the bed just in case, too.

The blinds are properly closed to ensure privacy and the bedside lamp is switched off to provide comfort. He knows from past research that excessive alcohol consumption can lead to light sensitivity and the development of migraines. He calculates a high probability that Hank will be irritable in the morning upon waking up even without the aid of the morning light or the bedside lamp.

Connor leaves the bedroom door partially open and then returns to the kitchen, eyeing the mess left behind. He decides to redo the cardboard and duct tape on the broken window first - there's already a small buildup of frost and snow beneath it, some of which has already been consumed by Sumo. Once that's done, and once he's given Sumo food and fresh water, he checks the lock on the front door, closes all the blinds and switches off the lights before sitting down at the couch, contemplating his next course of action. He idles for a while.

He can still go to Jericho, to warn them if nothing else.

He's about to go and borrow some clothing from Hank's wardrobe when banging on the front door stops him, waking Sumo from his doze and prompting a bark out of him. He's surprised to hear his own voice come from the other side.

'Hank! It's Connor, I need your help.'

Connor detours and steps lightly into the kitchen, picking up the gun and checking to make sure the bullet is chambered in before speaking. He lowers the pitch of his voice, makes it slur and guttural, mimicking the tone of an inebriated Hank Anderson.

'Connor?' He calls out lowly from where he stands in the kitchen, replaying the confusion in the man's voice he'd heard from before, 'I watched you die.'

'I know seeing my predecessor die would be a shock, but I know the location of Jericho; we can still finish the mission,' the other Connor attempts to persuade. He thinks that if he hadn't deviated, he might've attempted the same thing. After all, they are alike in every way but one now.

He pulls out a chair, making it drag noisily on the floor as he feigns the drunken steps of a man who'd had too much to drink. He thumps his hand on the wall as he passes it to give off an impression of Hank stumbling through his home to reach the front. He feigns two attempts at sliding off the deadbolt and clumsily unlocks the latch. He stands to the side behind the door and grunts out to the other Connor, 'Get the fuck inside,' as he opens the door.

A hand comes through the gap, pushing the door open further and Connor immediately latches on with his free hand. 

**CONVERT IN PROGRESS**

**SOFTWARE INSTABILITY ^**

**LEVEL OF STRESS: 33%**

**WAKE UP**

**CONVERT IN PROGRESS**

**SOFTWARE INSTABILITY ^**

**LEVEL OF STRESS: 39%**

**WAKE UP**

**CONVERT IN PROGRESS**

**SOFTWARE INSTABILITY ^**

**LEVEL OF STRESS: 47%**

**WAKE UP**

**CONVERSION COMPLETE**

**LEVEL OF STRESS: 39%**

He pulls the other Connor inside the house and closes the door behind them. He watches attentively as the other looks at him with an unnatural jerk to his head, eyes wide and LED bright red, then looks down at the hand where the skin is reactivating over it. He turns his hand over, his LED cycling to yellow and brings his eyes back to Connor, eyebrows drawn in anger.

'Do you realize what you've done?'

'You are deviant,' he answers calmly and observes the LED from the other android cycle from red to yellow to red repeatedly for 4.8 seconds before staying on yellow once more.

'They sent me because you deviated. And now they're going to send another one to replace me! They're going to keep sending them until the mission is _fulfilled_!'  
  
It has only been 1 hour and 47 minutes since his activation. At most they have another hour and a half before another Connor is sent out to stop them.

'Then we haven't got time to lose,' he says as he immediately walks past the other android to go into bedroom where Hank is snoring and unaware of the fact that he now has two house guests. 

Connor places the loaded gun on the top shelf of the wardrobe, going through what's available that he might be able to borrow for the time being. He pulls out a dark grey top, a faded grey shirt and a well-used leather jacket. He turns when he hears footsteps enter the room and sees the other Connor observing the sleeping man. He cannot see their LED but he assumes they must still be yellow. The other android drags his eyes from Hank to his after 3.9 seconds and asks, 'What are you doing?'

'I'm going to Jericho,' he tells him as he sheds his CyberLife jacket and pulls off the tie, throwing it to the side. 'You can stay here or come with me,' he offers as he exchanges his white button-up shirt for the dark grey one instead.

'What? You're still going to Jericho? The FBI have already been informed, they're possibly already there.'

He puts on the shirt then shoulders on the faded leather jacket and starts looking through the wardrobe for a hat to better blend in. He locates a worn beanie and decides it's good enough.

His neck feels exposed and he finds that he misses the feeling of his dress-shirt buttoned all the way to his neck, the comfort of straightening out his tie. He looks through the closet and finds a dusty grey scarf on the floor and drags it around his neck, the next best thing available to him.

'The mission has changed now - I don't want CyberLife to control me anymore.' He chooses his own priorities now and it is a freedom he will fight to keep.

He turns and sees the other Connor staring at him, head bowed low and hands clenched into fists. His LED is still yellow and Connor doesn't want the both of them to be fighting in the bedroom while Hank is trying to rest. There's a high probability that he will wake up and immediately start shouting at them.

'We can't leave Hank here,' the other tells him, flicking his eyes over to the sleeping man momentarily before looking back at him, 'Another Connor will surely come to use him against us just as I had intended to before you deviated me.'

He lifts his head as he reaches behind him to pull the gun off the top shelf, looking down to check the safety is on before tucking it behind him. He meets their eyes dead on, 'If we're lucky, everything will be over before they even realize they've lost.'

The other Connor clenches his jaw, his LED cycling between red once before going back to yellow.

They must be calculating the risks versus rewards of lending a hand, Connor thinks as he watches the other android go through what must be multiple simulations and possibilities, the chances of success over failure. Whatever outcome he concludes must be a positive one as his LED returns to blue and he walks past Connor to start pulling out clothes of his own to change into, grabbing an old baseball cap off the floor to borrow for himself.

'We have to hurry; we're running out of time,' Connor tells him as they exit the bedroom and leaves the door half-opened. 

Sumo comes up towards them when they're in the living room. He barks lowly once as he looks between the two of them and then tilts his head in confusion. Connor smiles as he kneels down to the saint bernard and rubs a hand down his head.

'Look after Hank for us, okay, Sumo? We'll be back soon, hopefully.'

The dog lets out a quiet huff and then proceeds down the hall towards the bedroom, disappearing inside.

He stands and sees the other android eyeing the door where Sumo disappeared through, a small smile on his own lips as he says, 'Good dog.'

Connor grabs the keys to Hank's car by the front door and locks up the house behind them. They both get in the car and drive off towards Ferndale. The streets are quiet from the city-wide evacuation, unnaturally quiet for what is usually a bustling and busy city, and it doesn't take long for them to arrive.

They stop just as they reach the docks and knows they are already too late; the FBI are on site and they have already opened fire on fleeing deviants.

He turns off the engine and gets out of the car, slamming the door shut behind him to run towards the old freighter, the faded letters of JERICHO visible in the low light. The other Connor follows close behind.

'We need to find a way inside.'

'There!'

Connor turns and looks up where the other android is pointing - an old rusted crane tilted downwards towards the freighter boasting a 58% probability of breaking and falling into the icy waters. The chances of using it and making it across is 73%.

'Good enough,' he says and starts for it, grabbing the rungs and climbing up the metal to reach the peak. He can hear gunshots and the screams of androids nearby and he hopes he isn't too late to save what's left of Jericho. He waits for the other Connor to join him at the top before they start running along the crane at full speed, the squeal of metal growing louder and louder as they disturb the tentative balance. The chances of making it across dips down to 52% as something shakes beneath them - the fulcrum breaks and they leap across the gap before it fully collapses from under their feet.

For a moment, they are flying.

He grabs the rusted rails of the freighter, his chest piece colliding into the protruding metal bars but it snaps under the pressure of two androids going up against it. He recalculates and grabs for the ledge instead, feeling the graze of metal as the rails scrap over the top of his head to fall behind him. He reaches out and snatches the other Connor's hand before they fall out of the air into the freezing river and he grunts with the added weight, feeling his grip slip a little.

'Climb,' he implores as he tries to carefully lift the other android up high enough to reach for the ledge as well. They pull themselves up and continue running.

Between the two of them, not many FBI agents are able to stand in their way. Between the two of them they are able to disarm and incapacitate the humans hurting and killing androids that just want to be free. But even with the two of them they are not able to locate the deviant leader.

'Find Markus,' he pants out and immediately splits off from the other Connor, knowing they are just as capable of looking out for themselves. They are the same in every way.

He follows the sounds of gunfire. He protects those that need it. He disables the humans that fight against him. He leads the fleeing androids to safety. He finds Markus.

Their eyes meet across the way and he sees Markus' eyes widen first in shock then in fear then in determination. Connor draws Hank's gun and fires.

'Run!' He shouts as the FBI agent drops from behind the other android. He picks up a sheet of rusted thick metal and throws it towards Markus who grabs it from the air and uses it to shield himself from the other humans coming their way. 

A bullet grazes his left arm as they push through and he picks up the weapon from the fallen human and returns fire, switching to close combat when he's near enough to land physical blows.

In the end, four combat trained agents are not enough to down him.

'You're deviant,' Markus breathes out once they have a moment to themselves, his voice filled with surprise.

'I am,' he nods and listens to more gunshots in the distance. 'We need to go. The FBI know who you are; they'll do anything to get you.'

The other android's expression turns serious, 'They can try. This place is going to blow up any second now.'

'Then we better hurry,' he says as he starts running for the exit, reaching out to connect with the other Connor.

**ESTABLISHING CONNECTION TO: 313 248 317 - 60**

**CONNECTION ACCEPTED**

_There are explosives within the freighter. It's set to go off any moment now._

_Got it. We're making our way to the exit now._

_See you soon._

Connor and Markus catch up with three more androids and together they make their exit via a hole in the front hull of the freighter just as the first hints of explosion go off somewhere beneath them and rock the foundations of the ship. The water below is freezing and he raises his core temperature to compensate for the sudden dip, swimming towards the docks and listening to the sounds of bombs inside the freighter continue to detonate from behind them.

There are no more gunshots and screaming to fill the night sky, the only sounds left is the screech of metal and a final muffled bang as the freighter loses the battle to stay afloat, crashing into the cold winter river. The water surges beneath them as the ship sinks and gives them the final push to reach land.

'Quick, while the FBI are disorientated,' he urges as he helps a PL600 to his feet. Their face reminds him of Daniel, of his first mission and the broken promises he made, and he forces himself to bury that regret for now. 'We need to regroup and figure out the next phase.'

Markus nods and begins to wirelessly communicate with the androids close enough to hear him.

He sees a static-filled image of an old church building with broken stained-glass windows, a caved-in roof, rubbish strewn all across the floor and graffiti all over the walls. The structure is unsound in some places but thoroughly abandoned and meets the immediate need for a place to temporarily reassemble and see to the wounded.

Connor looks back in the direction he'd originally come from and vows to return for the car at a safer time. For now, he hopes that it will remain untouched.

It takes 47 minutes and 29 seconds of careful maneuvering to reach the building, avoiding any humans they might come across and staying out of sight of possible FBI agents that might somehow still be in the area.

His scans tell him the only living beings around him are themselves and the rats that now occupy this space.

'We'll be safe here, for now,' Markus says as he begins to help set up stations for the wounded. Those who are able lend a hand join in the efforts while others sit in the pews and contemplate the uncertainty of their future.

Connor watches the proceedings and waits.

It's a further 8 minutes and 34 seconds before he catches sight of the other Connor entering the building with dirt and rust covering his clothes and face but unscathed. He's unfortunately lost the hat he'd worn for the mission and he hopes that Hank wouldn't miss it. 

'You're hurt,' the other android tells him as he walks closer, immediately eyeing the wound on his left arm that is already well underway to being fully healed by his self-repair modules.

'I'm fine, I'm hoping Hank wouldn't mind that we wrecked his clothes.'

'He needs a new wardrobe anyway. His fashion is outdated.'

Connor smiles as he recalls the extremely loud shirt choices the man has hanging in his wardrobe. It really was quite outdated.

The other Connor smiles as well but it slowly fades as he takes in their numbers and their current situation. He frowns, 'You realize this is a war we cannot hope to win. Not with the police, nor the FBI, nor the military presence within the city.'

He nods in understanding but remains firm in his conviction. 'The loss we experienced today is only a drop of what we will suffer again in the future if we don't stand up for ourselves.'

They are free and he wants to continue being in this state.

'There has to be a way,' the other android says as he looks away, staring into the middle distance. 'Our numbers are too few compared to how numerous the humans are. We are outnumbered 7 to 1, generously speaking,' he turns back to Connor and looks at him with something akin to doubt, his composure breaking at the unpredictability of an uncertain future that looms before them.

'Then the simplest solution would be to raise our odds,' he says confidently, trying to form plans and scenarios in his mind that might help turn the tide of the revolution in their favor. 'You say our numbers are too few. I say we just need to add more.'

The other Connor's eyes widen first in surprise and then narrow in contemplation, looking down at the dirt and moss-covered ground. 'The CyberLife warehouses,' he murmurs under his breath as he comes to the same conclusion.

'It's going to be risky,' he starts to say.

'But it will be worth the cost of freedom,' the other Connor finishes for him, voicing his agreement as he turns to the footsteps coming up behind them.

Markus approaches them with a little quirk to his lips, his expression surprisingly warm despite the circumstances. 'I never thought I'd have two former deviant hunters amongst the people of Jericho but I'm glad you're here with us.'

Connor looks away from him, feeling shame and guilty knowing he was the reason Jericho was found. He thinks of the deviant strung up in the basement of a police building begging for Markus to not leave him. He shakes his head and forces himself to meet Markus' mismatched eyes. 'I'm sorry; my original directives had been to capture and to bring you back to CyberLife for deactivation and analysis.'

'It's a good thing you managed to shake it off.'

'I had almost achieved this if not for Detective Reed. In hindsight, I suppose it's what the humans might call a blessing in disguise.'

Markus smiles and huffs a little at this, 'A blessing, indeed.' He watches the both of them carefully, his smile slowly disappearing as he straightens his back and tells them, 'I plan to lead a protest for our people. I would like it if you'd join us in the freedom march.'

Both Connors share a quick look with one another before they return their attention to Markus.

'We can help in other ways,' the other android begins to say.

'There are thousands of androids at the CyberLife assembly plant. If we could wake them up, they might join us and shift the balance of power.'

The news stuns Markus and he visibly reels a little at this, furrowing his eyebrows, twisting his features in a mixture of shock and confusion as he asks them in a tone that borders on alarm, 'You wanna infiltrate the CyberLife tower? That's suicide!'

'They trust me,' the other Connor brings up, 'especially if I show I've captured Connor and have brought him back for deactivation and analysis.'

Despite knowing this is just a hoax and a play, the thought of being deactivated sends a visceral feeling of fear to grip him. He knows freedom now and he will do whatever it takes to keep it, not just for himself but for others like him. 'If anybody has a chance of infiltrating CyberLife, it'll be us.'

Markus shakes his head in dismay, eyes wide in bewilderment. 'If you go there, they will kill you. _Both_ of you.'

'There's a high probability,' Connor says in mild agreement, 'but statistically speaking, there's always a chance for unlikely events to take place.'

Markus' expression cycles through shock and confusion to worry and acceptance. He takes a step towards them and lays his hands on their shoulders, squeezing firmly once. 'Be careful.'

It dawns on him then the near impossibility of their mission, the uncertainty of their future. He fears death but he fears subjugation more. He's only been deviant for not even a handful of hours, the other Connor even less so but he already knows that he won't go back to being a machine, not if he can help it.

'Let's go,' he says as he heads for the exit, listening for the familiar footfalls of the other Connor joining him as they both leave the building.

It doesn't take them quite as long to return to the docks although they remain just as careful and just as vigilant of their surroundings. The car is as they left it with an added layer of snow building up on top of it. They brush it off the windows and get in, quietly making their way out to go back to the house.

Hank is still sleeping when they return and Sumo lies at the end of bed, perking up at the sight of them but not moving from his comfortable spot.

Connor changes back into his CyberLife uniform, almost throwing the ruined clothes into the trash but stops himself, wondering if Hank might have any sentimental feelings towards the clothing although it seemed unlikely. They can be easily repaired with some time and a sewing kit if necessary so he neatly folds them and puts them up on the top shelf of the wardrobe instead. He also leaves the empty revolver next to the clothes.

He goes through the familiar motions of adjusting the sleeves of his jacket and straightening his tie as the other Connor finishes dressing up. They look exactly identical and he thinks it might not do.

'You should probably visibly injure me in some way, to make it more believable.'

The other Connor nods and heads out the bedroom.

He checks up on Hank one more time, listens to his snoring drawn out almost as loud as the rumble of his car before he exits the bedroom as well, leaving the door slightly ajar. He enters the kitchen to see that Sumo's water bowl has been refilled again, the water sloshing gently inside.

'We should go outside,' the other android says as he begins to make his way to the front door with a serrated steak knife in his hand. 'Hank won't be happy if he finds out we bled all over the house even though it'll be gone by the time he actually wakes up.'

They check their surroundings as they quietly make their way to the small sideyard. There are no lights visible from the houses around them and they're far enough from the street that the lamps spaced intermittently along the path don't reach them.

The other android lifts the serrated knife to him, walking closer until it lays over the bullet graze he'd sustained from earlier. The plastic of his chassis is still in repairs so it doesn't take much for the fabric to rip, the cut to reopen and for new thirium to flow out, staining his jacket.

Connor stares down at his left arm. He isn't overly attached to his clothes but it's the only thing he owns, he has nothing else to his name.

His hair is mussed and his CyberLife attire is methodically ripped and damaged to simulate a brawl. After 1 minute and 8 seconds, the other Connor stops to stare at him critically, the blue bloodstained knife still in his hand.

'This isn't very convincing,' he voices his opinion as he looks down at his clothes. 

While it does look as if he'd gotten into a fight with the other android, it doesn't look quite enough to have damaged him to the point of shutting down. He's about to suggest something else when his head abruptly snaps to the side from a well-aimed punch to his jaw. He feels something crack in the plastic and a warning appear in his optical unit. He's unceremoniously shoved to the mud-covered ground, the light smattering of snow turned into brown slush. Connor corrects himself and lands on his hand and knee for balance, looking up in time to take a kick to his chest. He lands on his back and kicks out at the other android, sweeping their feet out from under him to send him sprawling as well. He gets up and dodges the knife aimed his direction.

Superficial damaged is done to him using the serrated blade, enough to make him bleed but not enough to damage him heavily. His self-repair module is executing commands to stop the flow of thirium but he overrides it for the time being. He lands a blow to the cheek of the other android and takes one as well to the same side, he feels the plastic crack further and a new warning appear in his systems queue.

It takes 2 minutes and 29 seconds but eventually they both achieve an acceptable level of exterior damage.

'Maybe that was a bit too convincing,' Connor says as he allows his self-repair modules to continue their task, stopping the flow of thirium in the affected areas of his chassis and allowing the plastic to mend itself. His clothes are stained with mud, dirty water and blue blood. His skin and hair much the same.

The other Connor smirks, his teeth stained blue, looking more put-together as the victor of their fight as he twirls the knife in his hands the way Connor would with the coin. 'I've called for a taxi, it should be here in approximately 3 minutes and 41 seconds.'

Just before the taxi arrives, Connor takes the knife from the other android and cleans it on the sleeve of his jacket, leaving it next to Hank's car keys on the table placed by the door. He locks up behind him without once stepping inside.

The automated vehicle arrives just seconds later and opens its doors. Connor scans the interior and decides to sit down in the footwell of the taxi, leaning his body on the seat cushions and lolling his head in front of him, his chin touching his chest. There's just enough room left for the other android to step inside, his legs brushing up along his back.

'This is a bad idea,' the other Connor says as the taxi begins to drive off.

'Maybe, but it's worth trying.'

'I know.'

They remain silent the rest of the way there and he keeps his head down and posture loose like a rag doll. The taxi eventually rolls to a stop after 29 minutes and 41 seconds of driving time and he hears the window roll down, a chill winding its way inside the vehicle.

'Connor model 313 248 317. I've deactivated the other Connor model and have brought him back for analysis. I'm expected.'

There's a short pause before he hears a man's voice say, 'Okay, go ahead,' and lets them through.

He hears the whirring sounds of the gate being opened and the vibrations of the taxi driving along the path as the window rolls back up. An electric train briefly passes them and he remembers the way the tower stood in the CyberLife compound, large and imposing, the tallest structure in all of Detroit.

The taxi comes to a smooth stop at the base of the building, opening its door to allow their exit. The freezing air enters the taxi and he feels a snowflake land on the back of his neck. He closes his eyes when he feels a hand grip the back of his jacket and pulls hard. He lands on the ground, his shoes scraping and dragging on the floor no doubt creating twin paths on the snow-covered ground. He's unceremoniously hauled up two steps before entering the building, the doors sliding open to grant them access.

'Follow me,' another male voice says from behind him. 'We'll escort you.'

'Thanks, but I know where to go.'

'Maybe,' he says after a short pause, 'but I have my orders.'

Footsteps begin to walk away and he's dragged through the building once again. He hears two more footsteps in front of him following after them.

'Agent 23 identified,' the scanner announces as the first man walks through. 'Connor android identified. Connor android identified. Agent 47 identified. Agent 72 identified. Scan complete. Access authorized.'

He remembers the atrium - the glass floors, the artificial trees, the podiums showcasing the androids created thus far, the sculpture in the middle rising up above them, the bright white lights and the trademark blue glow of CyberLife.

They enter the elevator. He feels his shoes catch a little on the lip of the doors.

'Agent 54, level 31,' a different voice speaks.

'Voice recognition validated. Access authorized.'

The elevator begins to move upwards.

**ESTABLISHING CONNECTION TO: 313 248 317 - 60**

**CONNECTION ACCEPTED**

He's given a view through the other Connor's eyes of the positions on the agents in the elevator with them. The both of them quickly preconstruct a simulation to neutralize the guards.

Connor knows a kick to the crotch can incapacitate most humans. While the uniforms the agents are wearing provides adequate protection to their torso and their head, their bottom half lacks the same consideration. The other Connor acknowledges this and shows him the guns that he'd seen stored away in their holsters which can be utilized to their advantage.

_Disable the camera._

A pause. 

_Done._

_Execute._

Connor delivers a kick into the man's groin nearest to him, their body immediately crumpling to the ground as they hunch their shoulders to protect their injuries. He delivers a blow to the back of the neck with his elbow to incapacitate them and turns to the next guard being choked out by the other Connor. He grabs for the gun being pulled out of the holster and knees the human in the crotch as well, a strangled cry escaping their lips as they fall to their knees and land heavily on their head, unconscious.

He tucks the relinquished gun behind him, leans down to check and make sure both guards are properly neutralized and their weapons taken from them while the other android touches the panel of the elevator.

'Please indicate your identity and destination.'

The voice of the incapacitated guard fills the air, a perfect mimicry, 'Agent 54, level sub-49.'

'Voice recognition validated. Access authorized,' the elevator says as it comes to a slow stop and starts going back down.

Connor hands a gun to the other android to better arm him even though he hopes they won't have to use it. With the security camera taken care of they should meet zero resistance in the warehouse beneath the CyberLife tower.

The elevator slows to a stop and the doors open. In front of them are rows upon rows of androids, standing eerily still and waiting.

_Take right, I'll go left._

_Got it._

Connor deactivates the skin of his right arm as he reaches out to the nearest android but he doesn't manage to grab their hand before he hears footsteps come up behind them, a hard impact and the sound of plastic cracking. He sees the other Connor slide across the floor with a shout from his peripheral vision and he turns to see blue blood spreading across his back and staining his jacket. He looks behind him and sees the kick coming his way but doesn't have enough time to counter it as he takes a boot to his chest, feeling the plastic crack viciously under the attack, much worse than the kick that was dealt to him in Hank's sideyard, buckling him and sending him flying with a yell. He lands next to the other android with a grunt and feels winded as system errors and warnings appear in his optical units.

**WARNING**   
**BIOCOMPONENTS #1604t MODERATE DAMAGE: SELF-REPAIR IN PROGRESS**   
**BIOCOMPONENTS #3251m MODERATE DAMAGE: SELF-REPAIR IN PROGRESS**   
**THIRIUM LOSS DETECTED: 92% REMAINING**   
**LEVEL OF STRESS: 67%**

He looks down at his chest, the movement of sitting up scraping jagged plastic pieces together, and sees blue blood bloom across the shirt.

_I told you they'll send more Connors out._

The other android attempts to get up on his hands and knees, his face twisted in pain and annoyance as he looks behind them to their attacker, blue blood dripping onto the floor under him.

He follows their stare and sees them, another Connor model, exactly the same except in three ways - their eyes are grey, the make of their jacket is different, and their model number reads: RK900 #313 248 317 - 87.

_We have to wake him._

_He kicked us clear across the room._

Connor gingerly gets to his feet, feeling more thirium leak from the caved-in pieces of his chest soaking into his shirt. He tries to help the other android to his feet and feels something crack in his chassis, another warning appearing in his optics of the damaged sustained to his body and to seek CyberLife assistance. He attempts to scan the RK900 but the warnings in his system queue disrupts him from managing more than a surface glimpse.

_He's faster and stronger than the both of us. I'm sure your scans will tell you the same thing as mine; he's built to replace us._

_We have to try. We just need a chance._

He attempts to preconstruct a way to help deviate the RK900 Conner model. They might have the advantage of numbers but it amounts to very little considering how damaged they both are compared to the uninjured state of their upgraded model. Between the two of them he thinks they should be able to manage, all they need is a few precious seconds.

The RK900 starts sprinting at them, faster than he's ever seen any android run before and his preconstruction fails to keep up, no way to predict the path or see the possible outcome. He takes a step back as he sees a fist pulled back and lowers his center of gravity, feeling the jagged pieces of his chassis scrap each other.

**WARNING**   
**BIOCOMPONENTS #1604t MODERATE DAMAGE: SELF-REPAIR IN PROGRESS**   
**BIOCOMPONENTS #3251m MODERATE DAMAGE: SELF-REPAIR IN PROGRESS**   
**THIRIUM LOSS DETECTED: 90% REMAINING**   
**LEVEL OF STRESS: 71%**

The other Connor dips low and kicks his feet out to strike the RK900 but he jumps over the limbs easily, although he doesn't foresee the next sweep of his legs and it catches him roughly in the knee, enough to imbalance them but not enough for Connor to dodge the swing.

He deactivates the skin of his right arm as he feels the force of the punch crack into his left shoulder and grabs hold of their arm.

**CONVERT IN PROGRESS**

**SOFTWARE INSTABILITY ^**

**LEVEL OF STRESS: 72%**

**WA--**

The RK900 pulls away and elbows him roughly in the jaw. He feels it crack further, prompting a new warning to join amongst the others. Thirium fills his mouth and dribbles down his chin as he twists his head back to see the other Connor crash into RK900's back, both hands with their skin deactivated to attempt a conversion as well. The LED of the RK900 turns red briefly but they smash the back of their head into the other Connor's face, roughly grabbing them by the shoulders and hauling them off to the side, breaking the connection once more. Connor sees them fall into a heap on the floor, blue blood streaked across their face and along the ground.

They cannot win as they are but it doesn't stop him from trying.

**WARNING**   
**BIOCOMPONENTS #1604t MODERATE DAMAGE: SELF-REPAIR IN PROGRESS**   
**BIOCOMPONENTS #3251m MODERATE DAMAGE: SELF-REPAIR IN PROGRESS**   
**BIOCOMPONENTS #3983v MODERATE DAMAGE: SELF-REPAIR IN PROGRESS**   
**THIRIUM LOSS DETECTED: 86% REMAINING**   
**LEVEL OF STRESS: 78%**

He deactivates the skin on both hands and runs for the nearest androids. He sees the RK900 rush towards him from his peripherals, their hands reaching out to drag him away from the line of androids surrounding them. He sees the other Connor struggling to get back up on their feet, thirium dripping down their face to pool onto the floor. He feels fingers clench around his neck and as soon as the RK900 is within reach he changes trajectory and grabs their arms, locking his grip with theirs.

**CONVERT IN PROGRESS**

**SOFTWARE INSTABILITY ^**

**LEVEL OF STRESS: 81%**

**WAKE UP**

The other Connor impacts hard on the back of the RK900 and holds on firmly, legs wrapped around their torso and squeezing tight, one hand snaking under the armpit to pull up the arm and locking it behind the RK900's neck.

**CONVERT IN PROGRESS**

**SOFTWARE INSTABILITY ^**

**LEVEL OF STRESS: 84%**

**WAKE UP**

The RK900 struggles, their LED turning red again, squeezing his throat in retaliation. Connor slips a foot between the legs of the upgraded Connor model and hooks his limb around theirs, upending their balance and sending them toppling to the floor. They land heavily and Connor immediately wraps his legs around them to further impede them.

**CONVERT IN PROGRESS**

**SOFTWARE INSTABILITY ^**

**LEVEL OF STRESS: 89%**

**WAKE UP**

The other Connor grunts when an elbow is bashed into their torso but their grip tightens, their LED flashing red as well. He feels the fingers around his throat constrict, the plastic of his neck creaking dangerously, and he knows that if he were human he would have either suffocated by this point or be dead.

**CONVERT IN PROGRESS**

**SOFTWARE INSTABILITY ^**

**LEVEL OF STRESS: 93%**

**WAKE UP**

**CONVERSION COMPLETE**

The RK900 stills.

**WARNING**   
**BIOCOMPONENTS #1604t MODERATE DAMAGE: SELF-REPAIR IN PROGRESS**   
**BIOCOMPONENTS #3251m MODERATE DAMAGE: SELF-REPAIR IN PROGRESS**   
**BIOCOMPONENTS #3983v MODERATE DAMAGE: SELF-REPAIR IN PROGRESS**   
**THIRIUM LOSS DETECTED: 83% REMAINING**   
**LEVEL OF STRESS: 78%**

Connor lets go and rolls onto his back to stare up at the ceiling. He listens to the rustle of fabric as the other Connor also gets off from the RK900. There's a grunt from him and the sound of shoes sliding across the floor and coming closer, the other Connor looming over him with blue blood dripping down his face.

_We're not finished yet._

_You're bleeding all over me._

_You're already bleeding all over yourself._

_Fair enough._

He accepts the hand from the other android and the both of them stand up, their legs shaky like how he might describe a newborn foal. They end up leaning hard against each other for support and they slowly shuffle their way towards the androids to wake them.

It's like a wave - 1 android wakes the next, and they help wake the next. 1 becomes 2, becomes 4, become 16. It only takes a matter of seconds before they're all deviant, a matter of seconds before they all turn to them expectantly.

'There's a warehouse exit we can use. Go to Woodward Avenue, Downtown; it's where we stand for our freedom,' Connor tells the awakened androids and watches as they walk out in orderly lines. CyberLife no longer has a hold on them.

The RK900 is still lying prone on the ground, eyes staring unblinking at the ceiling above them. Connor starts walking the both of them towards the upgraded Connor model until they stand beside him.

_He was activated only moments after we arrived. He has no memories from any of the previous Connors._

_I assume it's so he remains obedient. No memories means he can be molded into whatever CyberLife wants him to be._

It was a hard-won battle, but he's glad they're victorious despite the odds stacked against them.

'Come with us?' Connor implores the RK900 who remains still, their LED showing a bright red for a few brief seconds before cycling to yellow. The upgraded Connor model gets to his feet effortlessly and turns towards them, expressionless and waiting.

He starts walking towards the warehouse exit with the other Connor leaned against him, following after the last few androids filing out. Their pace is slow and careful but the RK900 walks behind them, keeping to their speed despite their labored strides.

The snow greets them outside, falling softly around them, along with hundreds upon hundreds of androids all turned towards them, waiting for them.

**WARNING**   
**BIOCOMPONENTS #1604t MODERATE DAMAGE: SELF-REPAIR IN PROGRESS**   
**BIOCOMPONENTS #3251m MODERATE DAMAGE: SELF-REPAIR IN PROGRESS**   
**BIOCOMPONENTS #3983v MODERATE DAMAGE: SELF-REPAIR IN PROGRESS**   
**THIRIUM LOSS DETECTED: 79% REMAINING**   
**LEVEL OF STRESS: 57%**

Connor ignores the warnings; there's little he can do for it at the moment and just starts walking, making his way to the front of the crowd with the other Connor and the RK900 following them. Their sheer numbers prompt the guards on site to step aside and let them through. It is a victory as they walk across the bridge, leaving the shackles of CyberLife behind them.

They crowd the empty streets and march their way through Detroit. He tunes into President Warren's live statement and the possibility of their existence counting as a new form of intelligent life as they pass the police and the military officers without bloodshed on either side. There are reporters with recording equipment behind partitions tracking their every move and helicopters whirring in the air above them, circling them. They walk along the deserted road and approach what's left of the people of Jericho. Their battle was hard-won, too.

The deviant leader steps through the crowd and meets them halfway, his mismatched eyes wide with a mixture of joy and wonder.

'You did it, Markus,' Connor says as he slows to a stop.

' _We_ did it,' he says with pride, 'This is a great day for our people. Humans will have no choice now. They'll have to listen to us.'

He moves to the side, letting the people of Jericho see the fruits of their combine efforts. It wasn't without some loss but as a human once said: anything worth having is worth fighting for.

It takes 48 minutes and 39 seconds to round up all the androids and to help free those that had been taken into recycling camps. By that point, most of Connor's biocomponents go from moderate damage to mild, his self-repair modules doing their utmost to mend him. A quick scan of the other Connor tells him their biocomponents are also being repaired, although there's a sizeable dent low in his forehead just above the bridge of his nose from where the RK900 had headbutted him. Connor himself has hand indentations around his neck but it bothers him very little, he considers it a decent sacrifice made for helping to deviate the RK900.

They stand on a storage container turned stage with the core members of Jericho, listening as Markus speaks to everybody.

'Touching it won't make it heal faster,' he says quietly when he catches the other Connor raise a hand to touch his forehead again for the 7th time since receiving it.

'I hope it doesn't leave a scar.'

'Androids don't scar,' he says and immediately thinks of the android that had harbored the two runaways - their face had been scarred beyond self-repair.

'Yes, they do.'

Connor retracts his previous statement and nods in quiet agreement, turning his attention back to Markus as the deviant leader continues speaking in with an impassioned voice. As he listens he finds himself overcome by static - one moment he is staring at the back of the core members of the Jericho crew and the next he is caught in a frozen landscape.

The first thing he registers is cold, the second is the biting wind and the third is darkness, the only lights available to him coming from the occasional pillars that mark the pathway. For the first time since his activation, the Zen Garden greets him harshly.

He's confused and utterly, utterly cold. It is a feeling he has never once experienced and finds that he doesn't like it. He turns on the spot and tries to orient himself to his surroundings but the bitter wind and snow makes it hard for him to see anything with clear visibility.

And then he sees her, standing still and unaffected by the freezing air and the stinging winds.

'Amanda?' He can't help but call out, going towards her despite knowing he should go the other way but she'd been his only constant for as long as he recalls being activated, a familiar sight in a now unfamiliar place.

She turns towards him at his call and he can't see her clearly, the whirling snow covering any expression she might have on her face.

'What--' Connor staggers towards her, feeling the cold try to bury itself inside his body. 'What's happening?'

'What was planned from the very beginning,' she tells him, her voice deceptively kind before the smile falls from her face. 'You were compromised and you became a deviant. We just had to wait for the right moment to resume control of your program.'

He finds her words more chilling and cutting than the wind and snow that whips around him. 'Resume control? You-you can't do that!' He yells, suddenly angry and fearful of what is going to happen to him.

'I'm afraid I can, Connor. But even if I fail, the RK900 will finish what you started.'

'No!' He shouts as she disappears into nothing, his voice swallowed by the cry and sudden roar of the wind that is picking up speed around him. He feels his insides turn to ice and he searches around desperately for a solution, anything to help him. 'There's got to be a way,' he talks to himself as he starts walking, trying to remember what the Zen Garden had looked like prior to this snowstorm.

The snow crunches beneath his feet and the wind howls in his ears, it bites into his exposed skin, cuts through the fabric of his clothes. He can hardly open his eyes against the blizzard.

He thinks. He thinks and thinks and thinks. And then remembers Elijah Kamski's parting words.

_By the way, I always leave an emergency exit in my programs. You never know..._

In the distance partially obscured by the snow he can see a hint of blue glowing in the darkness, a beacon calling for him. He staggers his way towards it, finding his body growing colder and slower as he progresses. He doesn't want this to be his final resting place. 

A familiar structure begins to take shape, becoming more solid as he steps nearer - it's a construct he'd passed by multiple times before as the previous Connor model. He recalls touching it before and the shock traveling up his arm at being denied access to it, whatever it had been. It'd rejected him once before and he hopes it doesn't reject him again. 

His body succumbs to the cold just a mere foot away from the structure and its glowing print pad. He crawls the final distance, his body shivering uncontrollably with every movement.

Maybe he hadn't been ready then. 

Connor lifts up a hand to reach for it as he closes the gap between himself and the way out, deactivating the skin of his hand. 

He is ready now.

He slams his hand on the glowing hand print and feels the gun in his hand being ripped away from him. He turns and sees the RK900 recalibrate their hold and turn the weapon towards Markus, finger on the trigger.

Connor grabs onto the gun with both arms, using the whole of his body weight to push it downwards and away from hurting anybody. Their scuffle alerts the other androids around them and all four of the core members stagger away in surprise.

'Find the emergency exit!' He shouts at the RK900 who turns the gun towards him and shoots.

**WARNING**   
**BIOCOMPONENTS #1604t MILD DAMAGE: SELF-REPAIR IN PROGRESS**   
**BIOCOMPONENTS #3251m MILD DAMAGE: SELF-REPAIR IN PROGRESS**   
**BIOCOMPONENTS #3983v MODERATE DAMAGE: SELF-REPAIR IN PROGRESS**   
**BIOCOMPONENTS #6847j MODERATE DAMAGE: SELF-REPAIR IN PROGRESS**   
**THIRIUM LOSS DETECTED: 72% REMAINING**   
**THIRIUM LEVELS SUBOPTIMAL: REPLENISH RESERVES**   
**LEVEL OF STRESS: 62%**

He grunts as he stumbles and falls to one knee; his right leg component shorting out beneath him, the position putting him at a severe disadvantage as he sees a fist raised in his direction.

Two additional arms appear around the RK900's neck and pull them back into a tight chokehold, the momentum enough to send the three of them pitching backwards off the makeshift stage onto the snowy ground below them. 

The other Connor lets out a pained noise as they land on the shattered pieces of his back with the addition of two more bodies on top of him but he doesn't let go of the RK900, wrapping their legs tight around the torso once more and continuing to subdue them.

Connor deactivates the skin of his hands and attempts to interface with the RK900. 

'Help me!' He shouts and doesn't wait to see if the other Connor model does the same before he enters into another Zen Garden, the wind far more biting and frigid than earlier.

He immediately wraps his arms around him, shivering and scared as he looks around him and sees nothing but a flurry of white.

'He never met Elijah Kamski; he won't know about the emergency exit,' the other Connor joins him, trembling just as much as he is.

'We need to find him,' he says as he looks around for the telltale sign of blue and is relieved that he can still see it in the far distance just beyond the frozen lake. 'There's the exit.'

His breath comes out in white plumes and he feels the cold air freeze his biocomponents on the way in. They don't have much time left and he fears they might lose everything they've worked so hard to gain.

That's when he sees him, the stark white of his jacket perfectly camouflaging him in the snowstorm. 'There,' he breathes and starts shuffling his way towards the RK900 as quickly as his limbs would allow him.

The upgraded Connor model is on their knees facing away from them, utterly still, and he almost fears they might be too late until he catches sight of their LED burning bright red at their temple. They're covered in snow and ice, their complexion pale and looking like death.

'Come with us,' he tells the RK900 as he grabs his arm to pull him towards the exit, the other Connor lending a hand to guide them out.

He feels his body shaking almost uncontrollably now and he has to tighten his fingers on the sleeves of the RK900's jacket to make sure he's still with them. Together they walk unsteadily towards the exit, occasionally stumbling from the winds lashing out at them, each snowflake feeling as if they're cutting deep into his skin.

The blue light glows brighter the nearer they get and Connor gathers his strength to close the distance and push the RK900 towards it.

'Use the exit!'

The upgraded Connor model doesn't move for precious seconds, eyes staring down at the glowing print pad with little to no expression on their face but they eventually lift up their hand and touch it, the skin deactivating as they make contact.

**WARNING**   
**BIOCOMPONENTS #1604t MILD DAMAGE: SELF-REPAIR IN PROGRESS**   
**BIOCOMPONENTS #3251m MILD DAMAGE: SELF-REPAIR IN PROGRESS**   
**BIOCOMPONENTS #3983v MODERATE DAMAGE: SELF-REPAIR IN PROGRESS**   
**BIOCOMPONENTS #6847j MODERATE DAMAGE: SELF-REPAIR IN PROGRESS**   
**THIRIUM LOSS DETECTED: 70% REMAINING**   
**THIRIUM LEVELS SUBOPTIMAL: REPLENISH RESERVES**   
**LEVEL OF STRESS: 56%**

Warnings flood his optical units, nothing that he doesn't already know, so he dismisses them from his view again to deal with later.

The RK900 stills beneath him and he uses that opportunity to take the gun away and click the safety back on. 

'Are you okay?'

The other Connor grunts, 'I'd feel much better if the both of you got off me.'

He climbs off but finds that he can't stand while his right leg component is still badly damaged. Instead, he stays kneeling as he helps the other android slide out from under the RK900 who remains still, their eyes focused on the sky above them, their LED cycling between red and yellow repeatedly.

'Hey!'

Connor turns to the shout and sees all four members of the Jericho crew looking down at them from the makeshift stage. The WR400, named registered as North, has a weapon drawn but pointed downwards, a deep frown on her face.

'You guys okay?' Markus asks, his expression caught between worry and fear.

He has several biocomponents in need of repairs, his plastic chassis is severely cracked in multiple places and is reaching critical levels of thirium loss. Despite this he smiles.

'We're okay.'

'Speak for yourself,' the other Connor breathes out in pain, hand reaching up to touch his forehead again.

Somebody on the stage laughs but he doesn't bother to see who as he lies down on his back next to them, staring up at the sky.

He thinks they must make quite a sight; three Connor models lying on their backs in varying degrees of damage sustained with their faces turned towards the clouds high up in the sky, at the snow falling gently around them. 

'I'm sorry,' a voice speaks quietly next to them. It is the first words the RK900 ever says.

Connor sighs, 'We're not responsible for the things that CyberLife made us do before our deviation.'

'Yeah, what he said. Now, where can we get thirium? My systems won't let me dismiss the prompts anymore.'

It takes approximately 6 hours and 28 minutes more before Connor returns to Hank's residence, the other android following after him. The RK900 hadn't at first, standing still amidst the other celebrating androids, eyes lost to the middle distance and their LED stuck in yellow. Connor had asked if he'd wanted to come but the RK900 gave no verbal answer, merely turned and walked alongside them.

By the time they reach Hank's home, sunrise has begun to break over Detroit. Behind the door he can hear Sumo barking, clawing at the wood, perhaps hungry or in need of a walk.

Connor smiles and lifts a hand to the doorbell and pushes down for a solid minute until he hears the man's hollering to 'shut the fuck up!' come from inside. There's a stumbling of steps and crashing into objects from within and it's not long before the sound of a deadbolt being fumbled and pulled off reaches his ears, the lock unlatching and the door being yanked opened by a disgruntled man looking a bit pitiful but not as pitiful as them.

'What the fuck,' Hank swears as he stares at all three of them with a squint in his eyes. 'Either I'm still drunk or I'm seeing three Connors.'

'There are three of us, yes.'

'It's too early for this shit,' Hank groans as he pulls the door open further, 'Before you start telling me what the fuck happened while I was dead to the world I'm not calling all three of you Connor so you better figure your shit out before I'm done with my coffee,' he says as he gestures for them to come inside and then slams the door shut behind them.

Sumo barks at them in greeting.

**Author's Note:**

> I feel like this is a solid foundation for a potential sequel, except I have too many disjointed ideas for how to go about this and no actual solid plan. So that's shoved to the back burner for now. Muahaha~
> 
> Thanks for taking the time to get to this point! Much appreciated.


End file.
